Ventilating device.



F. M. GUNN, 0. BARK & W. SCOW ROFT.

VENTILATING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7, |914.

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F. IVI. GUNN, 0. BAHK & W. SCOWCROFT. y

VENTILATING DEVICE. l APPLICATION. FILED4 FEB. 7, `1914.

Patented Apr.. 13, 11915.

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El Q m il t SAIF kBARR AND SAID SCGWCROFT ASSIGNORS T0 SAID4 GUNN.

VENTILATING DEVICE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr.. 13, 1915.

Application led February 7, 1914. SeriaI No. 817,161.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, FRANCIS M. GUNN., OT-'ro BARR, and WALTER Scowcnor'r, c1t1- zens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of lillinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ventilating Devices, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improved means for controlling and regulating the flow of an elastic medium, such as air, the device beingparticularly suited for use in connection with automobiles where a regulation of the quantity of air which comes in contact with the engine radiator is 'a matter of high importance.

`We have aimed to provide in our device a i damper or slide valve capable of shutting off entirely the flow of air to a given point, or of freely permitting the flow of air thereto without the interposition of any substantial obstruction or interfering parts. llthas been further sought to provide a ventilator, the total area of the openings through which shall equal or exceed that of the openings in which the device is utilized. We also have aimed to 4provide means for controlling` the flow of air through the ventilator which is positive in operation, simplev in construction, and incapable of being shifted or displaced from any desired position of adjustment. lin connection with such adjusting means, we have also provided an indicator, the object of which is to enable the operator to more accurately and intelligently adjust the position of the damper or slide valve with reference to the conditions prevailing and the regulation required in consequence. lt has further been our aim to arrange the Ventilating device, including a damper or slide valve and adjusting mechanism therefor, in a compact, efficient, and serviceable manner within a suitable frame in such a way as to render the device readily attachable to or detachable from its place of use according as may be found desirable. These and other objects will more clearly appear from the description of our invention as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dev-ice embodying our invention shown as applied to the 4hood of an automobile; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of thel device, showing the mechanism by which lthe damper or slide valve is adjusted; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the upper portion of the ventilator, showing the hand wheel and indicator used to eiect an adjustment of the damper or slide valve; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross section through the device; and' Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view. of a blank of metal from which the principal parts of the device may be advantageously formed.

As best shown in Fig. 1, .our invention comprises a ventilator 6 through which the passage of air is regulated, and which is suitably mounted within a frame 7, the frame and ventilator being secured in its intended place of use (here represented as an automobile hood) as through the medium of a band 8 which may conveniently be formed of leather. Straps 9 secured to the band may be looped through suitable eyes 10 on the automobile hood 11 to effect a connection that is readily established or disestablished whenever necessary. A hand wheel 12 is shown projecting slightly forward from the upper portion of the frame 7 carrying an indicator 13 which moves operatively with respect to a dial 14, so that whatever adjustment is required of the ventilating device may be readily made, the hand wheel alone being manipulated, and the indicator consulted, for this purpose.

The ventilator consists of a fixed grid 15 having a number of openings 16 formed therein, these openings, as best shown in Fig. 5, occurring in courses, both horizontally and vertically, and preferably staggered as shown. The fixed grid 15 is bent in corrugated or zigzag fashion, as shown in Fig. 4, in such a manner that the openings 16 occur in regular horizontal courses facing first in one oblique direction yand then another alternately throughout the vertical length of the ventilator. A damper or slide valve 17 which, for purposes of convenience, will hereafter be termed the movable grid,

is bent in exact conformity with the fixed 100 grid 15, and is provided with openings similarly arranged so as to register therewith. This movable grid is operatively positioned immediately behind and adjacent to the fixed grid 15, and is capable of a limited 105 vertical sliding movement sufficient to cover or uncover all of the openings 16 in the fixed grid according as may be desired for the purposes of ventilation. As best shown in Fig. 2, this movable grid is held in operative 11o position within the frame 7 as by means of guide members 18, and is reinforced at 1ts upper and lower portions as by means of cross bars 19-and 20 respectively, .and addi--` tionally if desired, by one or more vertical'V supports 21.

The mechanism utilized for moving ythe damper or slide plate comprises a ylink 22,

one end of which is pivoted as to the cross tion on the forward side of the device, as bestv shown in Fig. l, said shaft 26 also being locked to a ratchet wheel 27, the teeth of which are engaged by a pawl 28 preferably held in operative position by tension means. The bearings for the shaft 26 and the pawl 28 are carried within the frame 27 on the rear side thereof, so that the entire mechanism for operating the movable grid is concealed from-view, only the hand wheel l2 being visible from the forward side of the device. It will readily be understood that manipulation of the handwheel 12 may be edected in one direction only due to the action of the'pawl 28 which `engages with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 27 and that during one half of its cycle of rotationthe movable grid will be moved in one direction and in an opposite direction during the other half of its cycle of rotation. The length of the stroke of the link 22 in practice would be designed in reference to the height of the openings 16 in the fixed grid 15, so that at the completion of one stroke of the movable grid all of said openings will be completely uncovered, whereas at the completion of the return stroke of the link, all of said openings will be completely and entirely closed. In the embodiment of our invention, we find it is possible to, so proportion and arrange the openings 16 in the grids 15 and 17 that their sum total area will exceed the area of the space in which the device operates. In other words, when the movable grid is adjusted to provide the maximum free area, practically the, same quantity of air can pass through the ventilator as would be the case if the device were entirely removed from its place of use. This is possible because of the fact that the grid when bent 'in the corrugated or zigzag fashion best shown in Fig. 4, represents in effect a series of trian les, only two sides of which are utilized. Since the combined distance around two 'sides of a triangle must of necessity exceed that of the third, it is possiblev by properly designngthe openings 16 with reference -to the angular corrugations or zigzags of theventilator to increase the free v area-greater than the area of the opening in Whichthe device op- -erates. While it lis' true that this angular disposition of the openings cause an increase of skin friction and diversions of air currents, it is found that for practical purposes, such factors offer a negligible amount of resistance. The'action of the ventilator just described is, therefore, an important feature of our invention, as any substantial interference with or obstruction to the How of air to a given point would seriously impair if not totally destroy the usefulness of the device. In this connection, it is also manifest that the blank portions of the grid are angularly disposed in such manner as to act as baffles, and tend for this reason to guide or deflect currents of air through the openings 16 in a slightly oblique direction. Where the device is used immediately in front of the coils of an engine radiator in an automobile, it will be found that the air passing through the ventilator in different directions, will act upon the radiator coils in a highly eiicient manner, to effect a cooling thereof. It is, of course, obvious that this action will be enhanced when an automobile is in operation, and a pressure of air against the front of the ventilator is created by movement of the vehicle.

It is to be noted that a series of graduations appear on the dial 14 to which the indicator 13 normally points. When the device is to be used on an automobile, these marks may be made to represent diiferent temperatures, and an operator may, therefore, when adjusting the movable grid point the indicator 13 to the dial figure which represents approximately the prevailing temperature, whereupon an adjustment of the sum total free area in the ventilator will automatically take place, such as to permit the passage through the device of a quantity of air best calculated with reference to the work which it must do. For instance, with a prevailing temperature of 20 degrees above zero,the indicator would be pointed to the figure 20 and the adjustment resulting would provide but a small amount of passageway for air, whereas with a prevailing temperature of 90 degrees, the indicator would properly be pointed to the figure 90, whereupon the sum total free area through the device would be greatly increased. The teeth of the ratchet wheel 27, may, furthermore, be spaced apart to correspond with certain of the graduations upon the dial, so that when the hand wheel is manipulated and the paWl engages successively with `each advancing tooth, the click occasioned thereby will indicate to the ear of the operator that an adjustment for, say, five or ten degrees has been effected, thus assisting in making any adjustments of the movable grid where thelight is so dim as not to permit a readin of the dial.

It is to be noted t at the weight of a vertically movable grid, such as has been described, must, under all conditions of use, be carried by the link 22 and the mechanism matrice m by which the same is operated, so thatwere it'not for the action of the pawl 28 on the ratchet wheel 27, the action of gravity would cause the movable grid to move downwardly, and thus be displaced from its intended adjustment. ln the embodiment of our invention, such acontingency is provided for, and it is impossible for the relapositively to prevent a downward movement of the movable grid, due tothe action of gravity, but this construction may be varied somewhat so that the hand wheel may be revolved in either direction according as is necessary to ede'ct the proper adjustment, a

fratchet wheel, the teeth of which are not cut radially but rather of equal length, being substituted in such case to permit of the pawl or trigger engaging therewithy being displaced upon rotary pressure 1n either di` rection. i y

llt'iseapparent from the foregoing description that the device may be constructed with varying proportions to suit the requirements of its intended use. i The 'angularity of the bends in the fixed and movable grids may be determined with reference to the sum total of free area which it is desired should Y be present in the device. (ln practice, we-

prefer to construct the device of sheet metal, suchI as aluminum, the openings through the grids being punched out in any suitable manner. By constructing the frame within I which the grids are mounted with a dange extending Vrearwardly a distance equal to the depth of the corrugations or aigzags of the grids sufficient space will be provided for housing the adjusting mechanism with-I out cag any ofthe operating parts to protrude beyond the plane of the rear face of the device. Tf the ventilator is constructed 'for more or less temporary attachment, the value of this compact arrangement of the parts becomes apparent. We claim:

l.. A ventilator embodying in combination a member having a corrugated cross section and provided with a plurality ofy openings therein, a second member operatively positioned adjacent said first member having a similar cross section and provided with openings therein corresponding to those in said rst membenand means for edecting a relative sliding movement between said members to vary the total area of openings therebetween.

2. A ventilator embodying a plate-like member having a straight line corrugated cross section provided with a plurality of openings therein arranged in each of thev planes thereof, said openings being proportioned with respect to the plate-like member to provide a sum total free area not less than the area bounded by 'the outside edges of said plate-like member, and means for controlling the passage vof air through the openings 'of said plate-like member.

- 3. A ventilator embodying a plate-like memberhaving a straight line corrugated cross 7section provided with a plurality of openings therein arranged in eachof the planes thereof, each of said openings having adjacent thereto an angularly disposed blank space which serves asia hadde therefor, said openings being proportioned with respect to the plate-like member to provide a sum total free area not less than the area bounded by theoutside edges of said platelike member, andI means .for controlling the passageof air through the'openings of said plate-like member.

f ,FRANCTS M.- GUNN. @TTG BAJRK.' j WALTER SCWCROFT. Witnesses A l?. H. Soren M. R. TnoMrsoN.

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